In recent years, virtually all personal computers and workstations have adopted a graphical user interface (GUI) environment, which allows a user to manage the system and execute applications using a “point-and-click” method on objects shown on the computer display. The main GUI background is commonly referred to as the “desktop”, and these objects typically include graphic icons, which represent some software application or function, and windows, which divide the desktop into different areas on the display for different applications.
It is well known in the art that with GUI systems, the computer system can be controlled using a pointing device such as a mouse. The pointing device controls the location of a pointer that appears on the screen of the computer's display device. Icons, windows, menus, etc. (referred to generically as “selection elements” herein) may be manipulated using the mouse or keyboard. In this way, underlying devices, programs, etc. which correspond to the selection elements may be controlled.
Typical GUI systems employ menus that are displayed to give the user of the GUI additional control and functionality options. For example, most versions of the Windows operating system by Microsoft Corporation currently in use today (e.g., Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP) have a “start menu” comprising a “start button” that, when activated, displays a menu of general selection items. These items may include programs installed on the computer, selections to allow configuration of the system (e.g., “settings”), search options, help options, and the like. Further, most programs operating in a GUI environment such as Windows include drop-down menus that give the user of the program additional control and functionality options. Such menus, and other types of menus, are pervasive in the GUI environment and frequently cascade, i.e., generate sub-menus from a primary menu. Such menu systems have substantially improved the ease of use of computer systems so that those without technical training can easily use computer systems for powerful computing tasks.
A user of a program/GUI has selectable options for display of the GUI environment, including for the menu selections. For example, various audio and visual “schemes” are available (different backgrounds, border colors, text sizes, text colors, languages, sounds, etc.) and these schemes can be selected by the user from a “preferences” menu, from a “control panel” within the program, or through other selection options. The selection of a particular scheme affects the entire GUI display globally.
Rather than selecting a particular scheme that affects the entire GUI display, users may also separately select preferences for individual aspects of the display, such as just the font size, just the colors, etc. While this enhances the use of the system for the user, the user does not have the ability to select a portion of a display aspect, e.g., a single menu item (or less than all menu items), and change only the appearance of the selected portion. Thus, if one font size is used for one menu item, it must be used for all menu items. Similarly, the same character set, language, color, etc. must be used for all elements, thereby limiting the selections available to the selections made by the current user of the system. Thus, for example, in a public library, if it is desired to have accessibility to an English language character set for designating an English-language word processor selection, and also have available a setting in a Kanji character set for designating a Japanese-language word processing system, this cannot be accomplished using prior art technology. Either all of the text will be in English characters or all of the text will be in Kanji characters.
It would be beneficial to have the ability to selectively choose display characteristics for selection elements, and in particular, menu items, on an individual, rather than collective basis.